Book Review & Giveaway for The Canning Kitchen by Amy Bronee Canning has filled my summer for several years now. Sometimes, whether I like it or not. I can’t seem to stop myself from ordering kilos of local fruit year after year that are wrangled into jars so they can grace my table during the dreary Canadian winter. My son can eat a jar of home canned peaches in one sitting and there is great satisfaction in spreading on some of my jam onto homemade bread for my boy. Once you have these treasures in your pantry, it is difficult […]
Strawberry Preserves with Vanilla Bean
I don’t really know why, but these strawberry preserves connect me with my inner anglophile. Perhaps because it is not a jam recipe which makes it seem much more sophisticated than it really is. Simply saying ‘jam’ with my Canadian accent has a harsh, twangy ‘a’ sound. Whereas saying, ‘preserves’ seems like they belong on a posh table that is being set for a cream tea. This is probably me just grasping at a dream that I could someday live in England. I have a deep longing to live there but I haven’t even visited there. Sad, I know. I […]
Strawberries with Crème Fraîche and Brown Sugar
Strawberries are my first and truest love when it comes to seasonal eating. I may flirt with strawberries in the winter but I usually feel guilty about my inconstancy. When strawberry season comes to Ontario I fully embrace the experience of picking strawberries, eating strawberries, and breathing in the beautiful scent of fresh local strawberries. Local strawberries mean the true start of summer to me. They arrive when school ends for the year and it is just starting to get really hot. The kind of hot that doesn’t have the slight chill in the breeze that hot days in May can […]
Gluten-Free Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp
Strawberry season is in full swing here in Ontario. I was finally able to get out strawberry picking on Canada Day this past Sunday at Barrie Hill Farms and picked about 20 pounds of berries in a hour. I admit, I had help. Simon picked a few and Timothy was there in a purely supervisory role and to keep my mom in line. I was too tired to make jam on Monday since we had just returned from an extra long weekend away in Niagara Falls and then to visit family in Barrie. The dogs enjoyed their holiday at Nana […]
Notes from my Freshman Canning Summer
Preserving is addictive. I started canning with a rhubarb jam that I had been thinking of and before I knew it I was ordering pound after pound of rhubarb from Bailey’s. When strawberry season hit, I knew I was in trouble. I made so much jam last summer that I sold a lot of it at a Christmas craft and jewelry get together that my mom held at the end of November. I remember being in the kitchen sweating over my stove berating myself about why I have bought so much fruit and then ordering more the next day. I […]
Crème Fraiche & Brown Sugar Scones
I really wanted something to eat my jam with. I was content with just toast but I left a brand new store-bought loaf on the edge of the counter before I went out and guess who got it? George just couldn’t help himself and pulled it off the counter. I was very disappointed to discover that Buffy also got in on the action and likely ate much more of the bread than Georgie. She was hiding under the bed when I got home, consumed with guilt and likely a sore belly. BTW – you don’t want to know how I […]